Christmas Chocolates

Me painting with chocolate

In always surprises me how much chocolate is distributed this time of year. I am one of the few souls who don't really care for the stuff, but even so it's really interesting to me that most people LOVE it. I got to thinking about that the other day while I was making my own Christmas chocolates...(I don't like to eat it, but it's fun to make!)
Why do so many people adore chocolate?
Well, it turns out that there is much more to chocolate than meets the eye. It's more than just another piece of candy, and here's why. First of all chocolate actually comes from a tree, Theobroma cacao to be precise. Where most candy is just sugar and food coloring, chocolate had much more substance. And the substance i.e. cocoa bean, has some really interesting properties when you get down to the chemical level. And those properties have some fascinating effects on our brains. (Well, not mine, but presumably yours if you like chocolate).

My Christmas Chocolates!

For starters cocoa beans contain a chemical called theobromine, that occurs in a  familiar compound, caffeine (which is also in chocolate), and produces a similar effect. That's why some people say you shouldn't eat chocolate before going to bed. The amount of caffeine can vary between different types of chocolate. Where you would normally get just a sugar high, with chocolate you get a caffeine+sugar high, that can jump start the brain, and even  increase memory quality for a few hours after consumption!
Chocolate also stimulates your body's production of neurotransmitters like dopamine (which are natural pain killers and mood enhancing chemicals similar to those found in morphine and codine.) This triggers the so-called "reward response"  feeling of well being.
Thirdly some of the chemicals found in chocolate are now thought to effect the same parts of the brain that marajuana does, producing a similar result. No wonder the Aztec kings of old used to drink hot chocolate daily! Who knew that chocolate could help you chillax.
Now maybe all of these things occur in such minute amounts that they really couldn't change your mood, but then maybe they can, and do. And maybe that's why they are such a Christmas staple? What better way to say Merry Christmas than giving someone a box full of treats that produce lively, happy, chemical reactions in the brain?